on the broadcast tonight, through the rupert murdoch scandal. what's next in this story and in the u.s., sweltering heat across much of the nation. a huge percentage of this country. looking for a connection between mile an hours who served in vietnam and increased risk in dementia. america's team back home tonight. they remain our top women. it just wasn't their day. they remain our top women. it just wasn't their day. nightly news begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television

good evening. it's one of the true media empires in the world. it's threatened and under attack. it's the empire of rupert murdoch, newspaper man who shut down one of his many papers but remains in the business along with some of the great name plates in film and television. it started with newspaper reporters eaves dropping on the cell phones of innocent people, claims more victims and may soon be felt here in the u.s. than many first thought. it's galloping through great britain where it is the story. we get to hear from rupert murdoch. tonight there's been another development in this. we begin with stephanie gosk in london. stephanie, good evening. >> good evening, brian. every day since this scandal broke, there seems it be a new bombshe bombshell. revelations, resignations,

arrests. the last 24 hours is no exception. it's left people in this country wondering and worried what will happen next. the fabled scotland yard is reeling after two sudden resignations of its most senior leadership. sir paul stephenson, the police chief, and his deputy, john yates, career policemen who are the latest casualties in the phone hacking scandal. scotland yard is being accused of mishandling the investigation into "news of the world qug, maintaining close relationships with the very people they were supposed to be investigating. police officers accepting bribes from reporters has allegedly been commonplace. stephenson and yates deny any wrong doing on their part. >> i have acted with complete n integrity and my conscience is clear. >> now the department tasked with counterterrorism and the 2012 olympics must find new leadership. what started as a scandal

involving a single newspaper has now grown so large, it is rocking this country's institutions and the murdoch empire. so far, there has been four high profile resignations, ten arrests. most recently, rebecca brooks, one of rupert murdoch's most trusted executives. she resigned and was arrested two days later. bro brooks, who denies any wrongdoing, has been a power broker for over a decade. >> very political, good at getting alongside people. >> including david cameron. details of his visits with media heads were released over the weekend. since elected, he has met with brooks and other murdoch editors dozens of times. he has faced withering criticism for ties to andy colson, who once served as his communications chief. colson was also arrested last week. cameron is increasingly on the

defensive, facing an energized opposition. >> terrible error of judgment in hiring andy colson. i really say the prime minister has to get a grip. he has to come clean and also own up to the mistakes he made. >> in a bizarre twist tonight, news that a former "news of the world" reporter and whistleblower has been found dead in his home in england. seen here on the bbc, he was the first journalist to go on the record, pointing the finger directly at andy colson, accusing him of actively encouraging phone hacking. the death is not suspicious, police say, but they are still investigating. all eyes will be on parliament when rupert murdoch, his son, james, and rebecca brooks take questions. they still want him to answer who knew what and how far up the chain of command did it go, brian. >> stephanie gosk starting us off from our london bureau this

evening. thank you. >> it is an american company and, thus, the scandal unfolding overseas could have a huge effect over here. michael izikopf is with us with more on that. good evening, michael. >> good evening, brian. more news tonight that the scandal is growing legal and financial troubles for one of the biggest and most powerful media companies in the world. rupert murdoch's news corp brought us simpsons and titanic, and everything from the national geographic channel. now his $39 billion corporate empire is facing its biggest crisis ever. escalating scandal in great britain has already spilled over to u.s. shores. the company's stock has dropped 21%, an $8 billion plunge in market value. late last week, a top murdoch

aide for decades and publisher of the most prestigious newspaper, "the wall street journal," resigned. >> up until now, there's been instability around mr. murdoch. people are sensing that the tide has turned against him and it may be time to ask fundamental questions about his operations. >> the justice department is asking questions. >> using the appropriate federal law enforcement agencies in the united states. >> it's not just whether "news of the world" may have hacked the phones of 9/11 victims in the u.s., a claim the fbi is investigating and for which there is no hard evidence. there are also questions about $160 in payments reportedly made from "news of the world" to scotland yard. they've just reached tout british authorities to determine if those payments may violate a u.s. law that makes it illegal for american companies to bribe foreign officials. >> i can tell you that there are

questions about whether the foreign corp practices act has been violated by rupert murdoch and his news empire. >> another potential threat, lawsuit filed by shareholders, including labor and municipal pension funds accuses murdoch and other directors of misusing corporate assets. in court papers, the lawsuit claims that the phone hacking reveals a culture run amok and that murdoch has treated the corporation like a family candy jar, like the television production company run by his daughter, elizabeth. $1.25 million. alleging corporate asset as opposed to political action committee funds voluntarily donated by employees were improperly used to support murdoch's political agenda. >> you have good reason to be worried if you're a shareholder. this could pose long-term threat

to the company. >> we got a statement from news corp this evening. news corp is taking the allegations seriously and fully cooperating with the relevant authorities as appropriate. however, the statement continued, we reject the notion that the issues at news international are somehow indicative of our culture. regarding opportunistic litigation will defend against its court as necessary. the weather has become downright oppressive. humid, hot air has settled over a huge area, making millions of americans miserable. in fact, 62 million people. 20% of this nation's population dealing with heat advisories. that number will now grow, as it all heads east. nb's kevin tibbles with us from michigan avenue in chicago tonight. kevin, good evening. >> reporter: brian, tonight, 42 states are dealing with 90-degree plus temperatures, temperatures that have already been blamed for at least seven

deaths and the thermometer keeps going up. today, h-e-a-t is a four-letter word, especially for those working in it. >> it's terrible. i can't believe it. >> reporter: much of the nation has been turned into a convection oven, basting at the beach, cooling off in the water. just remember to keep everyone hydrated and that includes fido. there are heat advisories and warnings in 18 states, from texas to michigan. this month, heat records have been tied or broken a thousand times. >> i'm meteorologist eric fischer in minneapolis where the heat index, combination of the temperature and humidity reached 115 degrees. central and southern parts of the state remain under an excessive heat warning through sunday. >> reporter: blamed for two drownings after a sailboat capsized in the annual chicago to mackinac race. and cheap trick bolted from the stage seconds before it was flattened by a thunderstorm in

ottawa, canada. fortunately, no injuries. oklahoma city is on track to set a new record. 90 degrees or more for 47 straight days. the governor's called for a day of prayer for rain. so, who is chillin' while we're grillin'? at chicago's alan brothers steaks, temperatures in the meat locker are a frigid 15 degrees. >> you like it in here in the summer? >> it's way better. it's like being a polar bear. >> reporter: meanwhile, back in the broiler -- what are you doing at the end of the day? >> jump in the pool. >> reporter: this heat dome is expect expected to stay over the midwest the next couple of days. bad news for you in the eve, brian.slowly, but surely, headed your way. >> thanks for caring enough to send us the very best. we have an update on negotiations to raise the nation's debt ceiling as the clock ticks closer to treasury's

deadline. just two weeks away, august 2nd. while we learn they had did meet over the weekend, the white house said no to a tea party-backed planned. negotiators are focused on a fallback plan that would allow the president to raise the limit in three stages through next year. a once big brand name is no more. borders book store chain said today it will liquidate after failing to find a buyer. they're closing all 400 retail stores, all of borders nearly 11,000 employees will now lose their jobs. and technology giant cisco systems announced it's eliminating 6,500 jobs, an efficiency move. that's in cisco's effort to cut $1 billion in annual costs to the company. this was the last day in

afghanistan for america's best-known general, david petraeus, who transferred command of u.s. and nato troops to his replacement, general john allen. a west point graduate with a princeton phd, easily the most celebrated modern day general officer is leaving to run the cia as the u.s. prepares for a gradual drawdown from afghanistan. when we come back here tonight, new reeveryone is on head injuries, dementia and alzheimer's, and the group that researchers are most concerned about tonight. they may have come up short in the end, but u.s. team is still "american idol"s. your sho. one day i'm on p of the world... the next i'm saying... i have this thing called psoriatic arthritis. i had some intense pain. it progressively got worse. my rheumatologist told me about enbrel. i'm surprised how quickly my symptoms have been managed. [ male announcer ] because enbrel suppresses your immune system,

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we're back, as promised, with news that may help solve a mystery. researchers set out to see what happened later in life to those americans who served in vietnam. what they found, presented today at the annual meeting of the alzheimer's association, is that head injuries during that war may be linked to dementia years later. and the findings could mean a frightening scenario, of course, for veterans of our current dual wars. thousands of them have come home suffering brain injuries. our report tonight from our chief correspondent robert bazell. >> reporter: richard wanamaker, 62 years old, is suffering twice because of his military service. initial traumatic brain injury or tbi. now, decades later, increasing memory loss. today's study looked at the

medical records of almost 300,000 veterans, 55 and older, over seven years, and included wanamaker's situation is hardly unique. >> among veteran that is had been exposed to tbi had about a two-fold risk of developing dementia. >> wanamaker was awaiting deployment when a vietcong threw a bomb. >> i walked into it, along with six other sailors. >> reporter: he always had some memory problems after his injury. >> i would always find a shortcut, write things down. >> reporter: he won an appointment, deputy undersecretary in the department of affairs. >> nine times out of ten i can't remember my password. it may happen a couple of times during the day. i get lost out mowing the lawn. i have a riding lawn mower. >> cynthia has noticed changes in her husband. >> driving a very familiar route

and he'll say to me, how do i get home from here? and it's sad to see. >> you'll see con contusions. >> reporter: dr. sam gandy, at mt. sinai school of medicine, shows how a brain injury, this white area, can lead to a huge loss of neurons and often, over the years, to dementia. brain injured troops in afghanistan and iraq, and know they could suffer the same way he is. >> i feel bad for those guys. >> reporter: troops who face yet another risk in the years ahead. robert bazell, nbc news, buffalo. >> up next here tonight, the reason 12 million children took a moment today to sing the same song. [ male announcer ] there's more than one of these abandoned racetracks in america today. automotive performance is gone.

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all those warnings about ca carmageddon, including on this broadcast, paid off. people did stay away from the 405, which opened hours ahead of schedule after the big improvement project shut it down for a day and a half. during the work period, a bridge was demolished, lanes were widened and it all went off without a hitch except for a few people who couldn't help themselv themselves, riding bikes along that long ribbon of highway. world war ii and korea veteran, proud marine, long-time former senator of ohio. to mark his birthday life.com, what's left of the late, great magazine of that era, released photos today never before seen. how about the young astronaut lounging in his hotel room or running on the beach back in the

primitive days of workout wear? now it can be told nasa had an early version of the ipad 3 in 1959. actually, that's not right at all. it's cockpit glass samples the astronauts were looking through. we met up with the senator recently at the air and space museum. he's doing great. though he's sad about the end of the manned space program. he is recovering from successful knee replacement surgery on his 90th birthday. one of the towering world figures of the last 100 years turned 93 today. ♪ >> south africa's 12 million school children sang a special version of happy birthday to nelson mandela today, part of the global celebration for the hero of the anti-apartheid

movement. he spent the occasion at home with family today. we have a full report on the celebrations on our website. that's nightly.msnbc.com. when we come back, what we watched this weekend. a champion who broke records and some women who tried and came awfully close. for our clients. tra mile with the wassman family, it was 2,500 extra miles. we're the wassman family from skagway, alaska. livin' so far out and not havin' a bank within 90 miles... i was runnin' into dead ends. happened to come across quicken loans online. [ chris ] walked over to the computer... i was able to see all the paperwork. while i was on the phone, i was able to go through the checklist. [ kathy ] they were quick and efficient. quicken loans is definitely engineered to amaze. they were just really there for us. from body and bath shops? with olay get what you love at half the price with new olay body collections, tantalizing fragrances and olay moisturizing ingredients that transform lathering into lavishing. olay body collections.

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finally here tonight, what we watched this past weekend. that answer is pretty simple. we went to see harry potter, in great numbers. the opening weekend of the last film in the series, or so we're told, earned a record-shattering $169.2 million in domestic ticket sales, $312 million overseas. just getting started. we also watched women's world cup soccer this weekend. people gathered all over the country and all over the world, for that matter, to watch the final match. talk about evidence of how much the world has changed in 60 years, for starters just think of it, the u.s. played japan in germany. in the end, the great u.s. women were out-gunned and japan had a rare moment of pure joy after a perfectly awful 2011 so far. our report tonight from nbc's

anne thompson in germany. >> reporter: soccer players didn't know it before, arriving back in the states today, they know it now. they are america's team. after 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time, the women's world cup came down to five penalty kicks for each side. after four, japan claimed the championship. a stunned american team watched the gutsy japanese squad celebrate. and then thanked their fans and the world for their support through this year's horrors, the earthquake, the tsunami and the nuclear meltdown. for the weary nation half a world away, there was, at last, a reason to smile. their victory in the middle of the night japan time making for cheerful morning reading. but if it's possible to win by losing, then the americans are

victors, too. for their remarkable graciousness in a surprising defeat. >> we have a lot to be proud of and we're going back to a country that's extremely proud of us and, you know, that means a lot. >> reporter: americans around the world watched the u.s. team sunday miss chance, after chance, after chance. frustrating, yes. but on nightly's facebook page and other media sites, fans praised both teams. congrats to our country and the country of japan. they could use some good cheer another posted. and, ladies, you did the u.s.a. proud. >> this is a great dramatic sports story at a time when sports in america isn't doing that great in some areas. >> reporter: two nations with different outcomes, both celebrating their athletes who played for the love of the game and country. anne thompson, nbc news, fra

frankfurt. >> by the way, we're excited to say the u.s. women's soccer team will be here, out back on our plaza tomorrow morning on "today." as for us, that's our broadcast for this monday night as we start off a new week. thank you for being with us. i'm brian williams. hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. hope to see you back here tomorrow evening. good night. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com ♪ [ rock ] [ chattering ] [ man on tv ] 96309. [ man ] ♪ she got it, you got it ♪ i got it, we got it [ groans ] ♪ who's got it see you later. ♪ yeah!